Mary Eggers

This week I will have a “Share the Road Meeting” update. If you haven’t hopped over to our Share the Road event page on Facebook, please do. It’s kind of a brainstorming place, and each day I take the points being made and try to figure out how, what, and develop the broad points. Please please please don’t forget the petition for Senator Robach that Rachel Stockholm began… asking for tougher penalties for DWI offenders. Click here for that. Had there been tougher penalties, Heather would be alive today. Bottom line. We are going to begin there. Parallel to that we will be working to develop ways to make our roads safer. So hop on over and stay tuned. Your ideas are welcome!

As I mentioned earlier this week, I am making a coaching change as I begin a bit of a new journey.I have been without formal guidance by choice since last March when I had a small health thing pop up. Because all of us here at QT2 are so versed in our protocols many of us coach ourselves, and most are really good at it.

I am not good at it.

As I have taken a bit of a break this season….. it gave me some time to reevaluate. I did two sprint races purely for fun…. and loved it. I have kept training, my volume is great….. just with no plan and no focus. I realized that while I am great at planning for my athletes, and staying on top of them…. I always slide myself into last place. That fire in my belly is coming back and I need to take that and go with it.

Time and time again this season…. Jesse has asked me, advised me, warned me, told me….. it’s time for a little bit of Mary time. He’s right, he’s absolutely right. I have worked hard to find that balance. I will never strike that perfectly but I can get close. Because of everything I do my time and energy are limited, and I don’t always expend that on myself.

I realized that in order to develop myself again as the athlete I am and the performances I know I can have….. I need to work with a coach. I need that one on one partnership and accountability. I need someone to be invested in me…. other than myself. Now Jesse, he’s invested. He’s fabulous. I have LOVED working with him. However….  now I work for him. So he’s my boss. And he’s my mentor in coaching Jennie. Love him as I do….. that’s a lot of Jesse time. That’s too much Jesse time. Besides….. I have one BFF necklace and that belongs to Wheeler.

I asked Jesse to put me with who he thought I would work best with. Preferably someone who wasn’t involved with me in any other way in my life. Jesse knows me better than I know myself, and I felt that if he paired me with the tooth-fairy then that would be exactly who I needed to be working with.

He took a few days to decide and that was horrible. Not for him, for me. But he takes the time to make sure it’s right.

And then he told me. I smiled. I smiled really really really big. Perfect.

I am going to be working with Michelle Joaquin. She’s a QT2 coach and has been with the team since 2007. She’s someone I respect and really look up to. Her athletic career needs no explanation, and what I really like about her is that she works with an extremely small group of athletes. I think I am her third. She does that on purpose, to make sure she can give her 100% to make sure we can give our 100%.

She’s perfect.

When we talked it felt even better. I know the QT2 systems and protocols…. but over the past year I have had to learn so much more as I have become a QT2 coach. It changed everything about the way I coach and now that I understand it as a coach I understand it doubly as an athlete. See…. when you are a QT2 athlete you begin to think you understand what goes into your training and your plan. You sometimes wonder why your long rides are 5:31 and long runs might be 1:22. You think it’s because your coach is messing with you.

Then you become a QT2 coach and even though you’ve been coaching for 7 years before that, you realize that as an athlete you only knew the surface of a lot of layer beneath. As an athlete you see the boat floating on the top of the water. As a QT2 coach you understand that there are miles of water beneath what holds that boat up.

You simply can’t replicate it. You have to dive deep and understand it and learn it.

To bring myself to the level I know  I can….. I still need that someone on the outside to guide me. It’s just the type of athlete I am.

Michelle knows I know the depth of what goes into all of this. It’s nothing she needs to teach me. Now we can get right into the meat of the matter. I have some big goals for 2013. All of my eggs will go into four baskets. Two 70.3 and two Ironman races. Sprinkle in some others as they fit. With coaching and everything else that I do, it’s the best method for me.

I have never worked with a female coach. I know Michelle and I know that she gets me. I am excited to have new perspective, but allows me to work within the same structure that brought me here in the first place. I knew Jesse would know exactly what to do with me. Michelle already knows how we have to break up the season for all of this. It’s going to be a good journey. This woman is no joke.

So stay tuned. This is the beginning of my 2013 journey. I have a marathon in 12 weeks. I have been in a base phase of 15-20 hours a week since…. March. “Okay that vacation is over” she said to me. “we need to get to work.” If I were coaching myself I would have remained in that base phase for another few weeks. Because it’s comfortable for me. What I need isn’t being comfortable, and trust me Michelle is not into allowing me to be comfortable.

One of the million things I love about QT2 and what Jesse has built….. is that we take care of each other as well as our athletes. I can’t tell you how many bumps in my road they have all helped me navigate. From a health issue to supporting the Duel in the Pool to battling the special education system. I thank my lucky stars that I have this group of people not only to call my colleagues…… but…… don’t mock me for being corny here (CHARLIE) ….. but I consider this group my family. I feel like I was adopted into this amazing group of people. I think it shows. Sure we have darn good results for our athletes. Look at any race and see our athletes nailing it. I think what happens off the field shows in how we are with one another. We care about our athletes and we care about each other. It is what makes QT2 so darn strong in my opinion.

Okay enough flower petals and rainbows. It’s time to get to work. Here is to a new beginning. I can’t freaking wait! Let’s go Michelle!